Polyol ethers such as polyoxyalkylene alkyl ethers and polyoxyalkylene ethers of sorbitan esters, and alkyl-etherified polyhydric alcohols have heretofore been used as bases, emulsifiers, lubricants, oily components and the like for perfumed toiletries and cosmetics.
Of these compounds, the polyol ethers have been produced by the addition reaction of an alkylene oxide such as ethylene oxide or propylene oxide. However, the resultant products are obtained in the form of a mixture of those having various polyalkylene chain lengths, and it has been difficult to synthesize these products in a high purity form. Such products have not attained satisfactory performance in some cases when used for the purposes of cosmetics, perfumed toiletries and the like. On the other hand, those having good properties have existed in a part of the alkyl-etherified polyhydric alcohols (glyceryl-etherified polyhydric alcohols and hydroxyalkyl-etherified polyhydric alcohols, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 984/1993). However, many of them have involved such a problem that they are solids having a high melting point, that they are difficult to homogeneously disperse in water because of the mismached allocation balance of both substituents, a hydrophilic group and a lipophilic group, and that they have no good affinity with any solvents of various kinds.
There has thus been a demand for development of a compound which is excellent in the performance as a base, emulsifier, lubricant, oily component and the like for cosmetics and the like, and can be produced cheaply and easily.
By the way, the glyceryl-etherified polyhydric alcohols or the hydroxyalkyl-etherified polyhydric alcohols have heretofore been produced by reacting an epoxy compound such as glycidyl ether with a polyhydric alcohol in the presence of a catalyst. Therefore, an etherified polyhydric alcohol is obtained as a mixture of various etherified polyhydric alcohols different from each other in degree of etherification, such as a 1-mol adduct of the polyhydric alcohol obtained by a reaction with 1 mole of the epoxy compound and a 2-mol adduct of the polyhydric alcohol obtained by a reaction with 2 moles of the epoxy compound. However, since the properties of such compounds vary according to a difference in degree of etherification (the mol number added), it is desirable to use etherified polyhydric alcohols each having a uniform degree of etherificaion according to their purposes. For example, the 1-mol adduct is preferred as a cosmetic ingredient. In order to obtain a mixture of containing the 1-mol adduct at a high content level, it is necessary to raise the excess rate of the polyhydric alcohol to the epoxy compound. This is however problematic because the mixture cannot help resulting in lower productivity.
In view of the foregoing circumstances, the present inventors have carried out an extensive investigation. As a result, it has been found that a fatty acid ester (1) of an etherified polyhydric alcohol, which is obtained by reacting a fatty acid ester of a polyhydric alcohol with an epoxy compound and will be described subsequently, is not only useful as an intermediate for the production of an etherified polyhydric alcohol heretofore in use as a cosmetic ingredient in that an etherified polyhydric alcohol having a desired degree of etherification can be efficiently produced via the compound (1), but also excellent per se in the performance as a base, emulsifier, lubricant, oily component and the like for cosmetics, thus leading to completion of the present invention.